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Telecom. Simplified.Simplified Communications will consult with your organization to discover the best telecommunications solutions including voice services of all formats, internet services, and television. With our strategic partnerships, we represent virtually all major carriers, allowing us to provide you with an unbiased experience that will take your business towards your business goals, with no additional fees.

As much as consumers crave convenience, a new report finds they still prefer human interaction when it comes to customer support. In its annual Global Consumer Customer Service Report, Computer Generated Solutions (CGS) examined consumers’ preferences for service interactions, specifically chatbot usage. According to the study:​

Only about half of all respondents said that they would turn to a chatbot for a quick customer service need. Another 25 percent say they would reach out to a company via email or social media.

Beyond simple customer support, many consumers still prefer human agents to chatbots. Nearly 50 percent of U.K. respondents and around 40 percent of U.S. respondents said they'd prefer a person.

CGS recommends using artificial intelligence-powered (AI) solutions to manage quick service requests and using human agents to take a more strategic role in the contact center, focusing on detailed, complex customer inquiries.

Verizon has implemented changes in speed restrictions for emergency workers in wake of California’s largest wildfire on record. The telecommunications company had slowed firefighters’ internet service while they battled the blaze in August, crippling an emergency communications truck’s data speeds and forcing firefighters to use other agencies’ internet connections and their personal cellphones.

Under its internet plan, Santa Clara County had used up its monthly data capacity, which allowed Verizon to significantly slow service. Although the high-speed wireless data plan provides an unlimited amount of data at a set monthly cost, speeds can be reduced if the consumer exceeds certain levels of use during that billing cycle.​Verizon restored full speeds only after the department subscribed to a more expensive plan, a move the company has since called an “operational error,” as they should have lifted the data cap as soon as firefighters called.

Are you concerned that Verizon is slowing your service? Connect with a broker to learn more about which plans are right for you.

As the end of the year approaches, you are most likely justifying your expenditures and evaluating your sales projections for 2019. Are you confident that your current technology will support your goals? We can assist you by completing an analysis of your business and an audit of your telecommunications invoices. ​

Professional telecom audits analyze your current telecom environment, including things like: peak calling times; Internet, wireless and VoIP usage and charges; long distance, local and roaming charges; current tariff charges and more.​

From saving money to identifying potential pit falls, a telecom audit can benefit your company in many ways.

Identify peak call times so you can respond with more staff for improved customer experience.

Catch possible phone abuse or toll fraud quickly.

Gain a better understanding of your telecom needs so you can allocate expenses accordingly.

Get an overview of system usage to show which trunks are being over- or under-utilized.

Rather than a set of rules that can be changed regularly by the FCC, Congress may soon vote on a new bill that would set net neutrality down as a matter of law. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) recently introduces the “21st Century Internet Act,” which would ban blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, while eliminating all questions of jurisdiction.

The bill would modify the Communications Act of 1934 (greatly built upon by the 1996 Telecommunications Act) and add new stipulations specific to internet providers. Rather than debating whether the FCC has authority to write the rules or not, and then quibbling over the rules themselves, the act codifies the rules as law and sets the FCC as the official watchdog.

"The fight to keep the internet open belongs in Congress, not at the Federal Communications Commission"

"The fight to keep the internet open belongs in Congress, not at the Federal Communications Commission," he said in a statement. "The American people deserve to know that their elected officials, not unelected bureaucrats, are fighting for their interest. That fight begins with my bill, which will create an ‘internet constitution’ with the foundational elements of net neutrality."

IN short, the bill would put to rest the question of whether the FCC wants to have net neutrality rules or not — net neutrality would be the law and it would be the Commission’s job to enforce it.

Some are praising the bill, including Vimeo and the National Association of Realtors. Critics believe broadband providers will oppose the bill saying they've pledged to follow the rules voluntarily.

FierceTelecom recently released its picks for the companies having the biggest impact in the telecommunications space in 2018. According to the report, “On-demand services, whether they're in the form of video clips or business applications, have created an insatiable demand for bandwidth that keep IT and network engineers continuously looking for new technologies and techniques.”

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision that has important implications for telecommunications service providers by paving the way for states to collect sales or use taxes from sellers with no physical presence in the taxing state. The court declared constitutional a South Dakota law requiring out-of-state sellers to remit sales taxes on sales to South Dakota residents if the sellers exceed certain revenue or transaction thresholds.

In South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., the Supreme Court overturned its 1967 decision in National Bellas Hess, Incorporated v. Illinois, and its 1992 decision in Quill Corporation v. North Dakota, which had generally prohibited states from collecting sales or use taxes on sales of tangible personal property from sellers with no physical presence within the state.​The Wayfair decision does not say that out-of-state businesses must immediately pay sales or use taxes to all states with such taxes, it indicates that a lack of physical presence in a state will no longer prevent the state from requiring out-of-state businesses to remit sales and use taxes. While the decision does not necessarily mean that all telecommunications service providers now have substantial nexus with all states, these companies should re-evaluate their tax collection and payment obligations on a state-by-state basis.

Your business may be overspending on telecommunications costs. According to Gartner Research, billing errors could represent as much as 14 percent of telecom spend. Telecom consulting firms have reported that billing errors were discovered in 81 percent of their client base – in multiple cases exceeding 20 percent of invoice. Yet 85 percent of companies do not audit their telecom bills, but simply pay them in full.​In order to shed light on your business’ telecom expenses – and reduce costs – ensure that anyone handling your telco accounts has Key Performance Indictors (KPIs) that match growth strategies. In addition, regularly review needs and usage in International calling costs, handset/hardware costs, and data consumption and charges. Conduct an internal audit to review historical pricing and review the presence of unused products/lines that are incurring charges. Audits can uncover things like:​

Billing errors such as incorrect call rates and overcharges

Being locked into an outdated plan because of contacts

Misuse of hardware

Unused services for which you are still paying

​On an ongoing basis, consider current products and which will be the best fit and which will reduce costs and maintain or improve operational efficiencies. You won’t be able to realize telecom cost reductions by being complacent, but Simplified can help by performing a full audit to identify problems as well as opportunities.

After a 6-week trial, a federal judge recently approved AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, ruling the government failed to prove that the deal violates antitrust law. The transaction, which will unite Time Warner's TV shows and movies with AT&T's enormous distribution system, including cell phone and satellite networks, is one of the biggest in media and telecom industry history.​When the deal was announced in 2016, AT&T said it needed Time Warner in order to compete against companies like Netflix and Amazon in the rapidly changing media landscape. Trump spoke out against the deal, citing the size of the combined companies. The antitrust division of Justice Department sued in November 2017 to stop it, arguing that the combination would harm competition and raise prices for consumers.